Transcript:

Hi everyone!

Before I get into the updates for this week, I’d just like to say a heartfelt thank you to the many of you who, watched and shared last week’s video message. It’s great to know that people, appreciate the updates. And so we’ll keep them coming. And I encourage you to keep sharing your feedback and suggestions with us.

Last week, several members of our team, attended the Having a Say conference in Geelong resented by VALID, which is Victoria’s peak advocacy organisation for adults with intellectual disability. They do amazing work.

It’s the largest disability conference in Australia. It brings together individuals, families, carers and professionals to share experiences, learn and celebrate inclusion. Having spaces like this, where the community advocates and policymakers come together, is essential to raising the voices of people with disability.

Our Disability Dialogue team presented at the conference. And I spoke about the Disability Dialogue last week. So you can go back to that message if you want to learn more. Kym Langton and Sonia Hume, from our Disability Dialogue steering committee, alongside Disability Dialogue team member Kelly Treloar, spoke about the importance of the Dialogue, particularly, for people with intellectual disability who too often do not get to have a say in disability policy.

They highlighted how accessible spaces like the Dialogue ensure everyone’s voice is heard on really important topics, and Kym and Sonia importantly shared their experiences as members of the Disability Dialogue steering committee, emphasising the importance of disability led governance practice.

Late last week, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing opened a consultation on the new framework planning rules for NDIS plans. The aim of these rules is making the planning process clearer and more transparent. They’ll start for some participants over the age of 16 from mid 2026. It’ll be a phased rollout, though so many participants won’t experience changes immediately.

The rules are being developed and the department really wants to hear feedback from participants and from the wider disability community. There are many ways that you can have your say, so I encourage you to visit consultations.health.gov.au to find out how you can go about that. And of course we’ll keep you updated as we develop our contribution as well. The closing date for that consultation is the 6th of March.

I don’t know about you, but January has really flown by for me. I guess starting a new role is always a bit of a whirlwind, but the energy, insights and conversations that I’ve had this month remind me why we do what we do. By prioritising the needs of people with disability and putting them front and center, by leading inclusively and by listening carefully to lived experience perspectives, we can continue to build a stronger, fairer and more inclusive future together.

So I hope you stay with us and thanks for watching.